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Can we talk about twisted grip again?
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Here’s a video showing the difference between Split grip, cup grip and twisted grip! https://www.studioveena.com/videos/view/56f95dd5-5520-42d7-ade6-001fac110003
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I’ve been able to split grip handspring for over 6 months, but can only lower down into cup, elbow and forearm grip. I had to ask specifically to be taught twisted grip as in our studio it’s not the recommended technique. My instructor showed us a push out from inside leg hang and the transition from a cross ankle release into tg ayesha. I found these ok after working out how to get my shoulder around the pole. I’m glad i learned the other grips first though, a kind of confirmation that my shoulders and back are strong enough for tg to do it safely. Pretty sure I’ll never kick up into it though. The logic on that bewilders me!
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Veena, could you please say a bit more about what you mean when you say “I also feel split grips are often over done too”?
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Thanks so much everyone for the great input and advice. Knew I could count on you. I have always avoided handstands on the pole and stuff like pencil, Ayesha, handsprings and cartwheels and found other ways to express myself on the pole but now I am feeling more ready to experiment a bit (once my injuries are fully healed). I will train cup true and split grips and see how I get on.💜
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Cat, I mean that split grips themselves can be done too often, and too soon. It’s not a natural or easy position for our bodies even in cup or regular grip and the shoulders still need to be able to stabilize the body, so conditioning is very important. However, I still feel TG is a bigger issue for more of the population than regular grip, they all can cause injury if not done with respect to our bodies abilities. I dislike TG so much because it is EASIER to HOLD when kicking up into, than a cartwheel or handspring done with cup or regular SG. It’s easier because the arm bone has rotated in the shoulder socket in a way that makes it feel “locked” into place, making balance less challenging. I believe that is why it became so popular…. it allowed more dancers to get into the inverted cartwheel/handspring position faster. Cartwheels and Handsprings done with regular and cup grip are HARD!
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Thank you for the detailed response, Veena!
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Tangentially, I recently heard someone recommend pointing the index finger of the top hand up in split grip, as though to mirror the lower hand. I understand why pointing the index finger of the lower hand down is better anatomically, but for the top hand it’s less clear to me. Has anyone encountered this grip, or know why it might be preferred?
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I rarely have the possibility to go to pole studio, I work on my own. Well, I went to a weekend course and and they used the twisted grip there a lot, like kicking from the floor into the Ayesha, pole cartwheels and kind of pole splits using the grip. I tried to use the twisted grip for the first time in my life, and it felt odd, like there was a iron string running inside my arm and digging my flesh. I tried the twisted grip handspring to Ayesha maybe like 5 times per side, then it just felt so bad I didn’t want to do it anymore. I noticed that the grip is kind of stable, though. The other girls were using the grip without problems (or so it seemed), the instructor says that everybody hurt. It’s been 3 days since I was on the course, and I can’t do an invert without pain in my shoulders.
Am I just being a baby, can I do something to be able to do the grip even now and then, or should I just let it be? I’m kind of disappointed to what I got. I think I’m too weak to perform good Ayesha yet, I fail the handspring also with the split grip, but it feels much better and the result is about the same than with the twisted sister.. :/ -
I’ve also avoided it for a long time for fear of injuring myself. Mainly I was worried more about my wrists than my shoulders. My shoulders are/were tight not hypermobile, therefore all the twisting is/was done in my wrist.
Now, my shoulders are more flexible and I use it limitedly.
The reason I feel ok about it is… because I can split grip ayesha and split grip handspring.
I think being strong enough to do those things, and my body understand the engagement and balance, makes me feel like I can use twisted grip when I need to for a combo.
Having said that… I still find it more difficult to handspring in TG! Maybe just because I’m not used to it?! I like having the pull of my upper bicep in SG and I find it pretty stable! But I also do not not swing the legs when I handspring… I do more of a little “pop” with my chest facing the ceiling… (https://www.studioveena.com/videos/view/563e7d6f-eaf4-4be5-a5e4-1253ac110089 thats a pretty old video from very low, but you get the point) I feel like this is a lot less strenuous and jerky on the body (especially if you “fail”), and helps me in working towards a deadlift.
I will say I have found a lot of what you found.. a lot of puzzled looks and confusion when I would say I don’t use TG?!? Like saying… “oh I don’t believe in outside leg hangs”… It seemed so fundamental to most people that it seems insane that I wouldn’t do it?!?
Sigh. I guess I kind of gave into peer pressure.
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@Pheonix I’m curious as to how it went with your TG transition in your showcase, and since that initial training period if your opinions on TG have changed at all. Did you “hang it up” after the showcase as planned, have you grown to love it or do you think as AK has said that you might “use it limitedly”?
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Dust bunny, that’s a good question. 🙂 i feel comfortable with twisted grip Ayesha and will practice it occasionally . I don’t have discomfort or pain from it at all but I prefer split grip for similar reasons that allysonkendall stated. I like being able to use my strength to control the move as in split grip. In twisted grip it just seems like I am hanging off the pole . It takes less strength but it is actually a little harder for me to balance. I didn’t want to stunt my progress by settling for twisted grip and not pushing my self to do split grip. I feel comfortable with split grip, twist grip and elbow grip now :). I try to train them all. But split is my favorite. I just feel like there are so many cool transitions in twisted grip that are out there . I do feel like lowering down into twisted grip might be “safer” rather than hand springing into twisted grip. Like I said. I have no pain it just seems like a weird position for the body. My goal now is to split grip handspring then cup grip. 🙂
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For me personally, I feel very unstable in twisted grip (I think it has something to do with my wrists) I can ayesha, shoulder mount, and straight edge just fine in it, but I avoid because (at least for me) the temptation is to just chuck all my body weight into my shoulder. That’s why I much prefer cup grip. I love cup grip all day every day! Cup grip iron x, cup grip shoulder mount, cup grip ayesha. It keeps me from resting on my rotator cuffs and stressing out my wrists. But that being said I got the main vibe that the biggest problem with twisted grip was people launching themselves into it without being aware of the necessary muscle engagements to prevent injury. I think it can be done safely as long as you are conscious of what you are doing.
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